A Walk in the Garden

I’m taking you on a little tour. You will see vegetables, flowers, birds and butterflies. Welcome to my garden! I feel very privileged to be able to garden with a scene like this right in my front yard.

A garden, to me, is not just a place to go to pull weeds or have vegetables. Its not a place that’s just about work and harvest and sweating in the hot sun all day. It probably involves some of all of that, but there’s so much more! Let me give you a few examples…

…like this tiger swallowtail on an orange zinnia. And check out that bee on the side. Isn’t that just amazing?! These are the moments that I never want to miss when I’m in the garden. The daily visit from the bluebirds is another highlight.

The garden provides plenty of insect life and earthworms that feeds the birds that visit the garden. The flowers provide nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies and the bees act as nature’s pollinators. The seeds I planted provide food for us. And that is the essence of gardening. Proper stewardship and lots of love and careful attention and observation will provide a place of beauty and peace. I frequently sit out in my garden with my camera and take pictures. It’s one of the places I go to to destress and simply take time to just be.

Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot of hard work involved as well. But there is an equal amount of reward that comes with all that.

I also enjoy walking through my garden and finding fresh vegetables to eat while I’m out there. Popping open a handful of peas and eating them right off the vine. A sweet pepper still warm from the sun. A juicy cherry tomato, or a fresh green bean. I love walking through my herb patch and rubbing the leaves just so I can smell the fresh basil or oregano.

There is a quote that goes something like this, ” we may think we are nurturing our garden, but of-course it’s really our garden that is nurturing us.” I find that to be so true. I often come away from the garden feeling less worried, less burdened, definitely more happy and with a renewed sense of mind and spirit.